Maningue nice!

Hi guys! Finally some more news from Mozambique...it has been exactly a week since my arrival and I am slowly starting to integrate into Mozambican society...sort of ;)

Well, where to start? I started my journey from Brussels with far too much hand luggage! I was carrying a small suitcase of about 12 kilos (next to my laptop and rug sack) , while I was only allowed to take 8 kilos with me...so, what I did, was take out a huge piece of cheese that I was going to give as a gift to the family I am currently staying with. Then, I gave the sad “I-am-going-away-for-four-months-and-I-can-only-take-20-kilos-with-me-etc.-etc.”-look to the check-in guy and I got my way with 9 kilos or so...what the guy didn’t know, is that I put the cheese right back in my suitcase when we passed the corner of the check-in counter hehehe!

Anyway, after a long, tiring journey, with stops at Frankfurt and Johannesburg airport, I finally made it safely to Maputo airport, with my cheese! When I walked out of the plane, a man with a sign with my name on it was waiting for me and guided me to the executive lounge, where Bela welcomed me. She is the wife of the president of the Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE), Mozambique’s National Statistics Institute! How lucky can you be...I got into contact with them thanks to my family in Portugal! Anyway, next, my visa was approved and I went to pick up my luggage...everything within half an hour...quite quick for African standards I guess! Then we went home, I took a shower and went out with Ana Raquel, their 18 year old daughter, to buy a mobile phone card and to have some snack. My number here is 00258 825151835!!

The following day I slept long and in the afternoon I met Dorien, a Dutch friend from Leiden who is also doing her research in Mozambique, here in Maputo. She already knows Mozambique well, since she has lived here for 5 years when she was younger! It has been really great hanging out with her (and her Mozambican boyfriend Pedro)...we have been out to “lanchar” (this is not having lunch, but having a snack at about 5 p.m.) and also had dinner a couple of times.

On Wednesday I had my first meeting with UN-HABITAT! The office is located in a house, together with a couple of other UN agencies, such as UNV and UNIDO. The staff consists of about 10 people and is very friendly. It seems that everybody is pretty busy with their own work though. Besides an Italian and a Chilean guy I think most of the staff is actually Mozambican. And one of the guys has family in Chibuto, which might turn out really handy for me! Anyhow, they welcomed me, gave me some information about their project in Chibuto and I immediately started reading some documents, including legislation on local governments. This is actually what I have been doing on Thursday and Friday as well, because I need to know what is written in the law, to be able to compare it with what is happening in real life. We also agreed that it is better for me to stay in Maputo and to make regular fieldtrips to Chibuto, since Chibuto is really....well....it doesn’t have that much. And it’s a 3-hour drive up North...so still doable I guess. I would have to arrange my own transport though! I guess I’ll have to take a “chapa”, a small buss that drives around like crazy (very unsafe) with too many people in them...but out of town they are supposed to be safer...well I sure hope so! But if it turns out not to work this way, I can always change and move to Chibuto.

This weekend I have been walking around town, getting to know the city a bit. I was also looking for a simple map of the city, but it is not that straightforward to find city maps here! Why? Because there were no more funds to print them; they are too big; they are plasticised and unpractical to carry with you, etc. I guess the Lonely Planet will have to do then. I have mostly been walking around the richer uptown (where I am living right now) and the somewhat more degraded “baixa” area (downtown) . In fact, I have been there today, which was probably not such a good idea...it was almost deserted and I was totally the only white person walking around. I felt like I could be assaulted at any moment and I was suspicious of every person that I saw...hmmm..But I did see the Cathedral, the town hall, a big mosque, a fortress and some museums that were closed. I will definitely go back there, since there is also a huge “feira de artesanato” (crafts market) on Saturday mornings and the Mercado Municipal, with lots of food etc! Lots of things still to see! Afterwards, I went to the swimming pool of Hotel Cardoso, which has a beautiful view over the sea and a beach called Catembe. At 5 p.m. this afternoon I met up with Irmi and Ulli, an Austrian and German girl, at Mundo’s, a bar / restaurant, where a lot of foreigners hang out. I got into contact with them over the internet. Irmi is doing a fellowship with the German Development Agency and Ulli is doing her PhD, for which she has to travel all over Southern Africa. It was really nice talking to them, exchanging research knowledge and experiences, etc.! Tomorrow I will meet up with them again, including Mareike, a Dutch/German girl who is doing research at the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Here at home I mostly hang out with Dinho, a nephew of the INE’s president. He is originally from a place called Pemba (in the Northern province of Cabo Delgado). He is really nice to hang out with! I also hang out with Ana, Tiago and another guy (forgot his name, Kinito or something), but they are out most of the time. Dinho hangs out at home more often. It’s actually pretty weird, everyone really has their own rhythms at home here...we barely eat together etc. The table is always set by the “empregadas”, so whenever you want, you can have breakfast, lunch or dinner. I guess it’s practical for them, but not that “gezellig”. ;)

I will move out pretty soon though, because I have found a new room a couple of blocks away from here (through someone at UN-HABITAT). It’s in the “Grail House” (or “Casa do Graal”), the Grail being an international women’s movement that has been initiated in 1921 in the Netherlands (nowadays located in Utrecht!!!). The house is a Centre for girls and youth in general to come by, talk and debate about certain topics, literature, etc. The movement aims to raise the awareness of girls; that they too can contribute to making society a better place, etc. I will be living there with Zaida, a 32-year-old Mozambican lady and a Mozambican girl called Neyma. I am really excited about it! Also because this Grail movement might come in handy for my research (when studying gender issues)!!

Well, this leaves me to talk about my first impressions here!!!!! I will make a little list:

-At first, it felt so weird walking around, and having everyone stare at you! You do see some “white” people walking around or the mixed, more “mulato” kind..but still, it remains weird. It do get used to it quickly though. I wonder what Chibuto is going to be like...not as cosmopolitan I guess ;)

- Maputo is quite a green city, with beautiful acacia and palm trees all over town. This is not only pretty, but also very handy, because it creates SHADE!! Nice shade in the boiling sun! (This week I have experienced 40 degrees!!)

- Traffic is in one word CHAOTIC! Especially with all the chapas cruising around, like I mentioned earlier on. But the thing is that these chapas are almost the only form of public transport...regular buses are very scarce. So I guess I will have to use them one day...but I have been walking to places most of the time (this is my work-out!) and Bela has been taking me to the office. At night it is also not recommended to walk alone in the dark. I might have to use taxis then! But until now, Dorien has been driving me home, whenever I was with her...she has a car! Nice! MANINGUE NICE! (That’s what they say here...everything is “nice”. “Está nice!” (and maningue = very)

- During the day, there are lots of people on the street! Lots of schoolchildren in uniform are walking around and people are waiting along the sidewalk for chapas or to cross the streets (which is an art by itself...crossing the streets in Maputo! Especially with the traffic coming from the other side). Next to that, there are a lot of street vendors selling fruit, veggies, phone cards, crafts, sunglasses, the newest DVDs, pillows, you name it! What you also see are a lot of guards, sitting on chairs, standing in front of buildings and houses etc.

- The roads and sidewalks are actually a bit of a mess...so many holes! You really have to watch where you are walking / driving...Obstacles are: holes, chapas, people...hehhehe.

- Life here is not that cheap. Eating out is of course cheaper than back home, but getting groceries at the supermarket it quite expensive! This is due to the fact that most of the articles are imported!

-Differences between rich and poor are quite obvious in Maputo. I am currently living in quite a good neighbourhood, with lots of nice houses. But coming from the airport, I saw a lot more shanty town type of housing! And downtown, lots of buildings are rundown, needing a coat of paint or even deserted (some houses are also deserted in my neighbourhood).

Well I guess that’s about it for now.....I have written way too much, I know...I should have posted a message earlier on this week! I hope you got an idea of what it has been like for me over the past week. I am really enjoying myself, having a maningue nice time, slowly getting settled here etc...and I can’t wait for my research to really start! Although I find it pretty scary too!! But I guess getting started is the most difficult part. This coming Thursday I will make my first fieldtrip to Chibuto, together with 3 other staff members of UN-HABITAT (Oh and Chibuto was on the news yesterday, hooray! I got a first glimpse hehehe). They will introduce me to the Municipal staff there and hopefully I will be able to get some first interviews done!

By the way, I have posted some pictures on facebook for you guys to see! This is the link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=101759&id=566821030&l=36a46

Tchau tchauuuuu! Until next blog message...

One more week...

Hey there!!!!!!!! How's it going???

As you all may probably know by now, I am leaving for Mozambique very soon...in a week time to be exact! I'll be departing on yet another adventure abroad...this time to do a research internship for a period of 4 months, which includes some traveling of course ;-). I am going to research "local urban governance and service provision" in a small municipality called Chibuto (3 hours drive up North from Maputo, the capital), and I will especially focus on participation and gender issues. The research will be hosted by UN-HABITAT, which is the United Nations agency for human settlements (and focuses especially on urban development). Really exciting!!!!!!
Sooo, I've created this blog in order for you to stay updated on all of my adventures and basically so you won't have to miss me that much...I know, it's gonna be tough without me ;-). I'll try to post as many pictures of beautiful Mozambique as possible...and I'll try NOT to make my stories endlessly long...'cause I'm a star at that...can't promise anything though. Sorry.
If you want to get a notice whenever I post a new message, just register somewhere on this site...otherwise you'll have to check this site regularly I guess.
To finish this message off...I'll be having some goodbye drinks at Einstein's on wednesday the 11th, so meet me there for some good old emotional saying goodbyes...:-) Would be nice! And otherwise...see you back in June!